This July, the Alte Münze will host the largest event of its kind in Germany: the African Book Festival. With more than 30 authors participating, the African Book Festival in Berlin showcases the broad range of experience of a vastly overlooked segment of the contemporary literary scene.

Curators of the African Book Festival

Africa is an enormous and widely diverse continent with a population of over 1,2 billion, and therefore a large part of the process of narrowing the focus to a manageable programme that can be presented in a few days is the responsibility of the festival’s head curator. Every year this curator changes in order to give a new regional and literary perspective, a new theme and often a new linguistic focus.

The festival’s inaugural year, 2018, featured German-Nigerian writer Olumide Popoola, whose theme was “Writing in Migration”. The following year, Tsitsi Dangarembga of Zimbabwe curated the festival with the theme “Transitioning from Migration”. This year the festival takes place as a Queer Edition, focusing on African and Afro-diasporic authors from the LGBTQI+ community. 

What to expect at the African Book Festival

The African Book Festival is set to include the readings, book signings and interviews that you would expect to see at any similar book festival. However, although literature is the main attraction, many of the visitors and participants alike have broader creative interests. Film, theatre, poetry and music will be heavily emphasised, starting with an opening concert of spine-tingling music.

A marketplace with food, info stalls and other fun goodies is set up in the courtyard to complement the festival programme creating a welcoming atmosphere for any bookworm. 

Plan your visit to the African Book Festival

Ready to discover your new favourite author? For more information, including a complete list of participating authors and directions by public transportation, please visit the official African Book Festival website.

Thumb image credit: ©JörgKandziora